Susanna Tucker's sleepy eyes snapped open at Hull's words, and she instantly felt wide awake.

She sat up instinctively. "Where did you say my mom is?"

"Blacktower."

"She's back already?" Susanna was shocked. She thought her mother wasn't supposed to return for another three days. It was too soon.

Hull asked, "Do you want to go?"

“Hold on, let me give her a call."

Susanna turned, grabbed her phone from the nightstand, and dialed Lacey immediately.

She had no fond feelings for Blacktower. If she could avoid going, she absolutely would, especially when she remembered how unhinged Derek could be. The man had clearly been driven mad by recent events; he was now desperate to bring any child confirmed by a paternity test back to Blacktower. It wasn't the love of a father for his children; it was something else entirely.

The call connected quickly.

"What is it?" Lacey's irritated voice came through the phone.

Susanna flinched, glancing subconsciously at Hull before turning away and cupping the phone. “Mom, are you at Blacktower?"

"Children shouldn't ask so many questions," Lacey retorted.

Susanna was speechless. She wasn't a child anymore! But then again, in her mother's eyes, she probably always would be. Lacey had been absent for so much of her life that she had little concept of her having grown up.

"Well, should I come over?"

"What would you come here for? You're not exactly big enough to provide backup, are you?"

Susanna's jaw dropped. Backup? Did you need to be physically imposing to make a show of force?

She pouted. "But it's Litamark, and I was worried about you..."

"Your father is here. There's nothing to worry about."

That one word 'father'-sent a jolt through Susanna's mind. She knew Lacey wasn't talking about Derek. But she hadn't officially acknowledged Elliot Harlow as her father yet. Elliot Harlow... Lincoln's brother. The thought of his identity made her instinctively glance back at Hull.

"Alright, alright, you're not needed at Blacktower. Don't come," Lacey said dismissively.

"Are you sure you won't be bullied?"

Susanna asked, a genuine note of worry in her voice. She was well aware of how intense the conflict between Hull and the Murray family had become recently. While Black Gate had seemed battered, she knew that a well-entrenched local power was notoriously difficult to dislodge. After all, it had taken the combined efforts of Hull, Yvonne Quinn, and Xander Schultz, along with several smaller factions, to bring them to their knees.

"Don't bother coming. Derek's already been dragged off by an ambulance," Lacey announced.

"What?" Dragged off by an ambulance?

"His heart gave out on him in his old age. I barely said a few words and he just collapsed."

"What did you say to him?" For him to collapse after just a few words, they must have been potent.

“I just asked him if he had a goddamn clue whether we ever slept together or not.”

Susanna was silent.

"And then he fainted. I really didn't say much, did I?"

"No, no, you really didn't say much..." Susanna muttered, but then a thought struck her. "Wait a minute He should know whether or not he slept with you right? The fact that Derek had fainted from the question was telling. It meant it had never happened.

"Maybe it was too long ago and he forgot," Lacey mused. "Or maybe he just has too

many women to keep track."